Exile 4: Decision
by krtshadow
Summary: Continuation of the Exile series. Tim Drake must make the decision about his future in Gotham. After he deals with a couple of gangbangers, of course. Complete.
1. Practice

Exile 4: Decision is here!! Well, at least the first chapter, anyway. Reviews or suggestions would be appreciated, and like always, if you want to archive this somewhere, just let me know. This is continuing the Exile series that was started in Exile's Return, and continued in Conversations and Reunion.   
  
Disclaimer: Not mine, woe is me.   
These belong to DC.  
  
Overview of past stories in this series: It seemed like it would be good to have something like this, so that in case you don't remember what happened before, you aren't totally lost. (Still need to read them once, though, these are not the whole story.) I dunno, tell me if this is stupid and I won't do it again.   
-krt  
  
Return: 18 year old Tim Drake returns from overseas where he has spent the last three years without even hearing from the clan. Sent there by his father after he learned about Tim's involvement with vigilantism, Tim returns to find out why the clan cut off communication with him. He enters town and eventually the cave, without anybody knowing exactly who he is. When the clan rushes to the scene to find out who has invaded their domain, a reunion ensues, after Tim discovers that there was a good reason for the lack of contact. The clan discovers that Tim hasn't wasted his time away, either. In fact, he's pretty dang good!  
  
Conversations: Tim talks with Bruce, and discusses some issues that he has with his father. Then it becomes necessary for Tim to talk to his father, also. To put it mildly, this does not go well, and Tim discovers that time has only reinforced the fact that his father doesn't deal well with him or his chosen work.   
  
Reunion: Tim goes to visit some old friends, namely the former Young Justice crowd, now part of the Titans. He reveals his identity to them, and discovers that they thought that he was dead. He also meets a seven year old Lian and gets a tour of the Titan's base. Leaving with the promise that he'll keep in touch, he heads back to Gotham, knowing that he now must make a very important decision about his future.  
  
Hoo-kay, on to the (hopefully) interesting part...  
  
Chapter 1: Practice  
  
I pulled back into Gotham at about 5:00 pm. Dusk was just beginning to creep over the city. The lights were glowing already, most of them would not go out until dawn, if even then. I took the long way back to the manor, winding my way through one of the shadier sections of the city. This was the area that had usually been mine to patrol, either with Batman or on my own.   
  
I pulled over to the side of the narrow street, wanting to get a better look at the area. I scanned the rooftops, since that was definitely the part that I was the most familiar with. It was surprising, even though it had been three years, I could still remember this area clearly. Oh, some things had changed, but the majority of the streets and buildings were still the same as they had been the last time I was through here.   
  
Did I really want to stay here? Go back to the way that things were before? I didn't even know if that was going to be possible. Neither Bruce nor Dick had even broached the subject of me staying in Gotham and wearing a mask again. This could be because they don't care, or more likely, they don't want to say or do anything that might influence me.   
  
Unfortunately, in this case I wouldn't mind knowing what they thought of the idea. I had been gone a long time, but I wasn't out of physical training, and I think that I might surprise Bruce himself with the extent of my mental training. But, there was a chance that Bruce would not be cool with the idea of my working in the area. There are few people more protective than Batman when you're talking about other people 'working' in HIS city.  
  
My reverie was interrupted by the awareness that several guys were approaching me from behind. I watched them in my rearview mirror, while seeming to be totally immersed in casing the area. Gang members, obviously, wearing the customary black colors and all wearing something sporting a very distinctive shade of purple. Obviously, I was in their gang's territory. I knew that the smart thing would be to get out of here. I had no real important reason to be here, no ulterior motive, no possible goal that would be accomplished by sticking around.  
  
I stayed anyway.   
  
There were three of them, looking like they really wanted to be thought of as tough. Tattoos adorned nearly every visible part of their bodies, and it was obvious from their attitude that they expected no problems from me. I was only one person, after all. The leader stepped around to the front of the bike and got in my face. "Man, you on Vice turf. Leave the bike, and start running. Maybe we won't kill ya."  
  
I looked him over through the tinted visor of my helmet. From the way that he stood, he was armed with a knife, but probably not a gun. Good. I wasn't wearing any body armor or bullet resistant shields. I could handle a knife strike, but bullets are a little harder to avoid. Not impossible, just a little more difficult. "I'll leave, but the bike goes with me." A direct challenge to his authority to give me orders.   
  
At my words, the two other guys moved up, one on each side of me. According to their way of thinking, they now had me surrounded. I grinned underneath my helmet. I'd forgotten the adrenaline rush that accompanied these little jaunts. I think that I had needed to do this. Maybe it had been subconscious, but I think that I had needed to prove to myself that I could still face somebody down off of the mat. Somebody who technically could hurt me, no matter how unlikely it was. Someone who would kill me without a second thought. Well, if you want to get picky, at least two of my teachers had fallen under that category. But that was different. Admittedly, these three weren't much of a challenge, but it was still real conflict, the one type of combat that I hadn't had much practice at recently.  
  
Leader seemed shocked by my defiance of his ultimatum. Obviously the Vice gang was influential, at least in this part of town. So, in order to defend his somewhat dubious honor, he pulled a knife on me and I took it away.  
  
If I hadn't been concentrating so much on the others, I would have laughed at the look on his face. I honestly don't think that he even saw my hand move. One second he was pulling the knife from a sheath that hung at his belt, and the next I was glancing down at the knife in my gloved hand. "Nice knife. You weren't actually planning on using this, were you?" My peripheral vision watched the other two, who obviously were only waiting for the order to attack me.   
  
It was given as Leader growled out a string of unintelligible curses. He waved his hand at the other two, but stepped back himself. I knew from that exactly what kind of man Leader was. The gang society was very much based on an Alpha male way of life. The strongest and the smartest became the leaders. It became almost instinct for a gang member to tell when he was out of his league, making him less likely to offend the wrong person and end up with a knife in the back. Leader should have let me go. He might have even been able to downplay my taking the knife away, and possibly retained his position of some respect from the other two. Letting me go would have signaled to his friends that I didn't really worry him.  
  
Instead, he made a very poor choice. When he told the others to attack me, he sent the signal that he wasn't able to handle me and needed help, and then compounded his error even farther by not even stepping in to help his comrades. Leader would never get very far in the gangs. He didn't have the brains for it.   
  
The two behind me weren't all that high in I.Q. either. They showed absolutely no coordination as they reached for me. I scanned quickly, looking for an opening that would help me decide which one to take first. The one on the right presented me with a perfect opportunity for a neck strike, and I took it, careful to hold it back so that it wouldn't kill him. It landed perfectly on the left side of the neck, and he crumpled, eyes going wide with fear at the terrible sensation of not being able to move his body.  
  
It also had the effect of putting a little scare into the guy on my left, who was understandably surprised when his buddy fell to the cement, arms and legs flopping weakly. I could almost read the question in his eyes. It was something along the lines of, 'Just one punch?'. He hesitated for just a second, and that was plenty of time for me to turn towards him and punch him in the gut with a simple Hapkido extended finger strike. His breath exploded out of him and he stumbled back, jackknifed over, desperately trying to get air to his straining lungs. He was out of the picture for at least three minutes, and that was if he knew how to fight the effects of the punch. I was willing to bet that he didn't. It wouldn't matter anyway.  
  
Leader was staring at me in utter shock. Maybe fifteen seconds and I had totally incapacitated two supposedly tough guys. I had never even rose from my seat straddling my motorcycle. I calmly handed him back his knife. "Care to make a try?" I was actually enjoying this. I was also not worried at all. From where I sat I could see five different ways to take him down. Giving him the knife back invalidated two of those, but three possibilities were still plenty.  
  
Especially when it wasn't necessary at all, since Leader finally showed some brains and backed away, knife falling from nerveless fingers. Grinning underneath my helmet, I kicked the bike into gear and headed out slowly, still keeping an eye on the three, just in case one of them pulled a gun.  
  
No one did.  
  
Well, that was fun. I laughed as I speeded away. I knew I must really be one of Bruce's protegees to enjoy intimidating criminals so much. I knew then what I wanted. I wanted to stay here, to work here, with Bruce and Cass and Babs and Dick. I wanted to be home. Here, in Gotham.   
  
It was still only about five thirty. I made the decision to talk to Bruce tonight, if he was home. Now that I'd figured out what I wanted to do, I wanted to know if it was feasible, if Bruce would allow it. I knew that I had to be able to do the work that I'd trained to do, though, and if he had a problem with letting me work in his territory, I'd have to move on. I didn't want to, but I had to help somewhere. If it wasn't here, it would have to be somewhere else. But Gotham was definitely my first choice.   
  
I took the road back to the cave. I want to get it settled. 


	2. Eavesdropping

Ok, sorry this update took so long. I was gone over the weekend, and I've been fighting this plot line all week. I had it pretty much finished and then it just didn't fit when I reread it. So, I've been brainstorming, and rewriting, and asking really nice people to help me with my ideas, and grumping about how I couldn't just be content with the way that it was in the first place. Which I still haven't figured out... Anyway, I think I have it mostly back on track now, and hopefully you guys won't have to wait for a week before I update again. I make no promises though!! Also, thanks to those who have been reviewing, I appreciate it. I especially like suggestions, I never know what I'm gonna end up using. ;) So, here's chapter 2 of Decision. - krt   
  
Disclaimer: Not mine...  
  
Chapter 2: Eavesdropping  
  
I firmly told myself that I was not going to force this issue. If Bruce didn't want me operating in his city, I would go somewhere else. Maybe he would even have a suggestion of a place that needed a little supervision. Ok, now I really was getting ahead of myself. I didn't even know how he was going to react to my asking to be returned to duty, and I was already planning my life in case he said no? That didn't seem very intelligent on my part.  
  
I really wished that either he or Dick had dropped a clue or two about what they were expecting from me. For all I knew, they were just assuming that I would stay in Gotham. Bruce might be thinking that I would stay but not wear a mask, or he could be planning on sending me to another city like he had Dick. Or even worse, he didn't think that I was capable of handling a vigilante identity and he planned on telling me that he didn't want me wearing a mask at all. I mean, I had been responsible for my father finding out.  
  
Ok, I am not going to think about this anymore. What will happen, will happen. So, time to start thinking about another topic. Like... dang, it's not working.  
  
I finally reached the back entrance of the cave, and secreted my bike in what was quickly becoming my parking space. I walked in, moving quietly more out of habit than purpose, noting that someone must be in the cave since most of the security was down. The rest I avoided just for the fun of it, and to practice my skills. I could tell that Bruce had already replaced some of the gadgets, obviously thinking that I had been able to get in way too easily a couple of nights ago. I grinned to myself. The news that an intruder was in the cave must have come close to giving them a heart attack. I couldn't bring myself to feel all that sorry for them, either. I still think that Bruce could have contacted me somehow, someway. Oh well, he did what he thought was best, and there wasn't anything that I could do to change it now anyway.  
  
I was snapped from my reverie by the sound of voices. It sounded like Dick and Bruce, although I was far enough away that I could only make out the occasional word. I moved to the shadows out of habit, mentally laughing at myself that I felt I had to be cautious here, of all places. I was about to walk out into the main cave and join them when something that Dick said caught my attention and I silently moved forward to listen in.  
  
"...always thought he'd come back one of these days. It just wouldn't have been like him to totally write us off. Although I wondered a little after we got some of those stories about the partying and stuff." I was close enough to make out the form of Dick pacing around the main computer console.   
  
Bruce was sitting in the high-backed chair, dividing his attention between talking to Dick and scanning information at high speed. "I suspect that those reports were exactly what Tim wanted us to know, no more, no less." Well this was somewhat true, although I had been much more concerned about what information my father heard about me than what the clan knew. To be honest, I was rather surprised that my misinformation had actually fooled them. I would have thought that they would have known me better than that. Far from offending me, this actually made me grin a little. It was kind of nice to know that they didn't have me totally figured out.  
  
Dick did a handstand almost absentmindedly. He was like that, always moving. While Bruce did the perfectly still thing to perfection, Dick was happiest when he was moving, doing some stunt, or jumping off tall, tall buildings. "Yeah, I guess so. I'm glad, really. I don't think that he'd have made a very good playboy. Not like you." The sarcasm was dripping off of his voice.  
  
"Hhnn."   
  
"So, what do you think he's gonna do now?"  
  
"Unfortunately, I do not know. I think that my ability to predict his actions may be compromised."  
  
"Oh? In other words, he isn't doing the things that you would have predicted he'd do. Like what?"  
  
"I didn't think that he'd want to see his father, I didn't think that he would answer my questions, and to be honest, I wasn't sure that he'd ever come back either."  
  
Dick flipped back into a more normal position, and sounded almost annoyed. "Look, we've been over this, and for once I was right. He came back. Just like I said he would." He ignored Bruce's grunt and continued to muse. "Although I was surprised about the way that he did it. When Babs told us that someone was in the cave, I have to admit that he never even crossed my mind."  
  
"It did mine, but I was putting faith into my accounts that had him located in Switzerland." Bruce brought up another report and started skimming, pausing occasionally to add a note to the pad in front of him.   
  
"Yeah." Dick started to chuckle. "He sure pulled one over on us. I think we are very lucky that he's a good guy. I'm sure we could take him on if we had too, but it wouldn't be pretty. Hey, where is he anyway?" I pulled back slightly. Did they know that I was here? How could they? He continued. "Babs said that he left the Tower hours ago. Shouldn't he be back by now?"  
  
Bruce didn't answer.  
  
"Really, what if something happened to him? Maybe he decided to leave again." Dick started to pace again.  
  
"First, he can take care of himself. Second, I tagged him with a tracer. If he's not back soon, I'll GPS him."  
  
Hey! He had me bugged? Already? How in the world? Dick obviously wondered the same. "How'd you manage that?"  
  
"Right in front of him." If Bruce did the chuckle thing, he would have been chuckling now. "That first night, during his fight with Cassandra. Put one in his jacket lining and later got one in with his weapons when he let me look at his gear."  
  
I repeat, hey! They continued to converse, but I backed out of there as fast as I could without being noticed. I didn't want them to check my location and find me fifteen feet behind them. That would not be one of my better moments.   
  
I guess that I shouldn't be surprised. In fact, I should have expected that Bruce would do that, it was just like him. Annoying that he did it right in front of me though. I picked my way outside very carefully, really not wanting to trip any alarms now. Once I got back out to my bike I gave my jacket and weapons belt a careful once over. Sure enough, I discovered two tiny chips. I reslung the weapons belt around my body, where it went from my right shoulder to my left hip. The bugs went into one of the many pockets that lined the front of the belt, the part that went across my chest. The sheath for my bos settled comfortably in the small of my back, I put my jacket back on to ward off the chill of the cave and reentered the passage, this time not taking any care to be stealthy.  
  
I walked into the cave and saw both Dick and Bruce turn to look at me. I pulled my helmet off of my head, tucking it under my arm and running a hand through my slightly sweaty hair. Walking toward the computer console where Bruce sat and Dick stood, I set my helmet on a ledge along side others used for the clan's multitude of motorcycles, batwings, and planes. I glanced up to see that they were both still looking at me, with little and no expression on their face. The little expression was Dick, not surprisingly, and he almost looked nervous, but I couldn't figure out why. Having those two sets of eyes on me was actually rather intimidating, especially in light of the topic that I was about to bring up. My only option was to play it as cool as I could, and take matters as they came up.   
  
I returned the look for a couple of seconds, automatically cataloguing them and the area around me. Bruce was in full costume, complete with cape, cowl and scowl, while Dick was in costume minus the mask. I was curious about why they were both in costume this early in the evening, but I didn't ask.  
  
When fifteen seconds had passed, I cock an eyebrow questioningly and broke the silence. "Is something wrong?" I was beginning to feel like I had dirt on my face or something.  
  
Dick exchanged a glance with Bruce. "No. No, nothing's wrong. Did you get a chance to see your friends?"  
  
Ok, that was defiantly a topic change. Why? What did I miss in the time that I went out to the bike and back? Dang, I'll probably never know, since I can't exactly ask without admitting that I was eavesdropping. Which I am not going to do. Well, I guess I can play along.   
  
"Yeah, I saw them. Y'know, you guys might have told them that I wasn't dead! You had to have known that they believed that." I couldn't believe that Bruce wasn't totally aware of what most of the superhero world had thought of me.   
  
Bruce never even batted an eye. "They would have gone looking for you."  
  
Oh. I see. I hate to admit it, but he has a point there. If Dad had been willing to turn me in if one of the clan contacted me, then I imagine Young Justice showing up on my dorm doorstep would not have been appreciated either. I felt a little of the old anger well up in me at the realization of just how much my father had screwed up my life.  
  
Of course, if I'm going to be perfectly honest, that's not something that I usually need a whole lot of help with. I am pretty talented in that area myself.  
  
I gave Bruce a brief nod, acknowledging that I saw and understood his point. Once again, there might have been ways around my Dad's threats, but they were only really obvious with hindsight. Bruce had also been right about something else, although it had been no big surprise to me. "You were right about Dad, too." I injected a little sarcasm into my voice. "He was just overjoyed to see me again." I mentally winced. I am pretty sure that I did not hide the pain in my voice good enough. Might have been enough for your everyday man on the street, but not these two.  
  
I could almost see Dick's ears perk up at my words. Bruce was curious too, but I doubt that his ears would even dare perk up. I considered the fact that they had been very patient with me so far, not asking details about anything and not commenting when I changed the subject. It had been several days, and there had been no interrogations about my past or my future. Pretty impressive for two guys who were used to having their slightest questions answered immediately, and if not, they knew the reason why. I was also reasonably sure that they hadn't tried to find out any information on their own. Even if they had been looking, especially for information regarding my past, it was hidden in such a manner that it was very unlikely that even Oracle could figure it all out without at least being given a starting point. Given what that starting point was, it wasn't going to be given. At least not now.  
  
I really didn't mind sharing a little, but the details of my rather, who am I kidding, really painful relationship with my father was something that I wasn't sure that I could vocalize. So, I answered Dick's questioning gaze with a truthful, but short comment. "Let's just say that we both lost our tempers, and I am no longer welcome at the Drake household. If it was up to him, I wouldn't be welcome in this hemisphere."  
  
Dick winced. "Ouch."  
  
I sighed. "Yeah."  
  
Bruce didn't say anything at all. Big surprise. Well, now was as good a time as any. Silence reigned for a minute as I ordered my thoughts. "Bruce, I said I'd let you know when I figured out what I planned to do. Do you have a minute?"  
  
Can dead silence get any quieter?  
  
TBC... 


	3. Answer

Yes, I am still alive. Life just sucks sometimes, but I am still alive. I HATE midterms!! Anyway, sorry, got that out of my system now, I'm good. Anyway, chapter three is here, I'm working on chapter four, and I'm finally happy with the direction that this fic is going again. Whew!! Once again, as always, suggestions, reviews, critisims, ideas, anything is welcome. I dunno why anyone would want to archive this, but just check with me first on the offchance that you do. The disclaimer is in chapter 1. Hope you enjoy... -krt  
  
Chapter 3: Answer  
  
Bruce turned his chair, swinging half circle so that he completely faced me. He pushed his cowl back, and it came to rest in a swirl of black around the back of his neck. "Go ahead." Dick was off to my side, keeping a poker face. I swear, there are disadvantages to being in a family where everyone can perfectly control their emotions and verbal cues. The only thing I had going for me was that I could control mine just as well as they could if I wanted to, and I wanted to now. It was something I hadn't been anywhere near accomplishing before my departure from Gotham three years ago. I was willing to relax, but they needed to do so first. I was already feeling uncomfortable with this conversation, at least knowing that Bruce could probably only guess at what I was feeling helped a little.  
  
I resisted the impulse to be intimidated by the solemn look on Bruce's face. While getting intimidated was somewhat normal for anybody bearding the Bat in his den, er, cave, it wouldn't accomplish anything or help me in any way. "I'd like to stay here, in Gotham." I was about to continue but movement from Dick sidetracked me. He had turned away from us and was walking away. Uh oh. That didn't look very good at all. I tried not to let it bother me and continued warily. "However, I need to know if it is acceptable with you."  
  
"I couldn't stop you." Debatable, at best. I wonder if he misunderstood me or misunderstood me on purpose. This was beginning to shape up like one of his infernal tests, and once again, I had no clue what he was looking for or what I was supposed to say. Déjà vu. Training night in the Batcave all over again. Yippee.   
  
Time to be totally blunt. "Where ever I am, I'm going to be wearing a mask. If that's Gotham, then you do have the final say in the matter. I'm asking if you will allow me to work in Gotham again." That came out kind of jumbled, but the main idea was pretty clear.  
  
Bruce didn't say anything, just motioned me towards a chair.   
  
I didn't move. "Bruce, I'm just asking. If you don't want me here, that's fine." Not really, but I'd get over it. Eventually.  
  
Bruce looked as inscrutable as always. "What would you do then?"  
  
Ok, now I know that this is a test. Oh well, I didn't have a whole lot to lose, either he'd agree or he wouldn't. I answered him honestly. "I'd leave, probably head for the West Coast." I shrugged. "Go to college, probably."  
  
He raised an eyebrow. "College?"  
  
"Yes." I shrugged again. "I'm not really sure what for, yet. I imagine I'd have to figure that out as I went along." Maybe a science or something. I'd be in the position of having to make a decent salary to scrimp enough to pay for things that Bruce bought in lots of a hundred. Vigilantism needs funds, especially if you're not invulnerable.  
  
"And if I told you not to wear a costume?"  
  
Whoa. Ask a harder one, why doesn't he? Not hard to answer, but hard to verbalize. "If I was in Gotham, that would be your prerogative. If I'm not.." I raised an eyebrow and let my voice go totally flat, "...then it's none of your business." I mentally winced. Here comes the hurricane. My face, however, was carefully emotionless. It was the truth, and if he was going to try to pull that one on me, he was going to be learning a few things about me in a hurry. I inherited my stubbornness from my Dad, after all. Bruce and I exchanged stares for another long minute, as I waited for his response.  
  
It came as Bruce's face cracked just a little and he did his little one corner of the mouth quirk. "Timothy, you are certainly welcome to both stay and work in Gotham, if that's what you want."  
  
I couldn't hold back a grin. "Thanks, I do." I felt like jumping into the air with relief. I was welcome. Wanted, even, if I'd read Bruce's face right. I had a place that I belonged, a place that I could be myself, and people that I could share with.   
  
Dick almost scared the life out of me as he let loose a full-throated cheer. "Yes!!" I whirled in astonishment as he came bounding over from where he had been leaning up against the cave wall. Bruce gave Dick a half-serious glare as he rejoined us. Dick cheerfully ignored him and slapped me on the back. Hard. "Back in black, Timbo!"   
  
He raised his hand to pound me on the back again and I calmly moved out of the way. No more bruises were necessary, thank you. I grinned at him. "Back in something, anyway."   
  
"Man, I thought that you were never going to get around to asking. Worse, I thought you might just take off or something." Dick rolled his eyes. "And then I would have had to track you down..." He grinned wickedly at me, "... and shoot you with a tranquilizer gun from a distance and bring you back again."  
  
I mock scowled at him. "And exactly what good do you think that would do you?" I smirked. "I'd just get away." That might be a brag, Dick ties awful good knots. How would I know this? Trust me. Just trust me on that one.  
  
"Nope. I'd give you to Cass before you woke up. She'd be mad that you didn't stay, too. You wouldn't be running, walking, or crawling ANYwhere for a good long while." Dick mimed a knife slash across the throat with his gloved hand.  
  
I bent over, wrapping my arms around my stomach. "Oh, low blow. Foul. Not fair."   
  
Dick laughed. "It'd serve you right, too."   
  
Bruce spoke, his tone dry. "If you two are done..." He let the sentence trail off, his tone threatening dire consequences if we didn't become done immediately, if not sooner. Dick and I exchanged glances and shut up, although Dick shot Bruce a smirking grin as retaliation.   
  
Oh my gosh, it is so good to be home.  
TBC.... 


	4. Introspection

Next chapter up. Sorry, a lot of Tim's thoughts here, but this needed to be in here. Tim's a thinker, and I really think that he's the type to have these mental soliloquies. So, hopefully this won't bore you stiff. If it does, sorry, the next chapter should be better. These stories keep going and evolving on me. I had planned on only four chapters for this story, at the most, and it looks like it's going to be six, at the least. shrugs Oh well, I guess. I'm becoming a faster typist, anyway. Drat my hyperextended, overactive imagination.   
Also I'd like to thank Jim, Jon, Lee, Claudia, Kelly, Teri, Nchan, Nararbitz, Redwulf, and anybody else I missed, that so kindly offered to help me figure out some of my last minute changes to the storyline. I really appreciate your support. Hope I get a chance to return the favor sometime. -krt  
Reviews greatly appreciated.   
  
Disclaimer was in chapter 1   
Chapter 4: Introspection  
  
I leaned up against a convenient outcropping of rock, still grinning slightly. Dick smirked at me from the other side of Bruce's chair. Now that I was officially one of the guys again there surely wouldn't be any harm in catching up on a lot of those pranks that he'd played on me.   
  
Ok, so it's been three years. I have a long memory. So, one of these days, Richard Grayson, one of these days.   
  
Not now, though, because there was still several important issues to settle. Like the fact that I needed a name and a costume. I was beginning to wish that I'd given this a little more thought. To be totally honest, I had never really thought that I'd get this far. A couple of days ago, I had thought that Bruce had cut off contact with me for no other reason but that I screwed up when Dad found out about Robin. Then, when I got back and found out that there was a plausible reason, I wasn't really sure that Bruce wanted me back on the streets. Now that I knew that this was ok with him, I wished that I'd had a name all picked out. Having a costume to jump into and impress them all with would have been cool, too.   
  
So much for a stunning entrance. Heh.  
  
I really don't care that much about my identity. That might sound stupid. I mean, what hero doesn't have a total love affair going on with his or her costume. Ask a hero, or a villain, for that matter, what they spend the most time on outside of their profession, and it's usually the costume and the gimmicks. Or the car, but Dick doesn't fall into the normal category. I was different from most heroes in that the costume that I'd worn wasn't something that I had been the first to think of, or even the first to wear.   
  
I didn't even know who I wanted to be now. According to the 'heroic code', I should have just had a life shattering experience or just discovered some new aspect of myself, and miraculously, that should help me shape a new identity. I've had life shattering experiences, and discovered several new aspects of myself over the last couple of years, but nothing seemed to have actually changed the way that I thought about myself. Because in a lot of ways that was what a costume was. Oh sure, it hid your features and made it so the bad guys would recognize you but not know who you were, but to be truthful, so would a plain black outfit. The additions, the name, that was all an outward projection of how a person thought, what they felt, and how they chose to affect their world.   
  
I'd felt at home in the Robin costume. It had been what I'd had fantasies about since I was five, and the pride I felt when it was mine had been great. Fear of screwing up had been pretty high on the list, too, but as I had grown up and survived the different obstacles that Gotham threw in my path, I had lost that fear. After that, for a year or so Robin had been my mental projection. Who I was, what I wanted to be, what I couldn't be around my father, I found that I could be around my surrogate family when I was Robin.   
  
But, 'was' was the key word there. Robin. I could be Robin again, and fall into the role relatively easily, I guess. This would be if this was acceptable with Bruce, of course. But, the outward projection of Robin that I had been when I was fifteen was far from the person I was now. I had changed, both for the better, and if I was totally honest with myself, in some ways for the worse. I had left what little innocence I had ever had behind me, with Robin. Gone also were most of my insecurities, my childish fears, and my lack of confidence in what I was capable of. I suppose it was a fair trade, certainly one necessary to my maturing, but sometimes I wished that my life wasn't so danged complicated. Although my time away from home had enhanced my physical abilities, I think that what changed the most about me over the years of loneliness and self-preservation was mental.   
  
Amazing what three years on your own will do to your confidence and will power. Here, in Gotham, I had known that if I failed, it would be bad, but life would go on. Maybe without me, if it was a bad enough failure, but it would still go on. If I failed, Bruce would get the bad guy. If I fell, one of the clan would either be able to catch me, or pick up where I left off. Top that off with the feeling that I'd always had that if something did happen, or I quit the game, that no one would ever really notice, and you get a insecure teen that never really accomplished everything he was capable of.   
  
Now, I knew exactly what I was capable of, and better yet, I knew that anything that I didn't know now, I could learn. Three years of lonely nights, and days spent getting pounded on by people much harder on me than anyone in Gotham ever had been, had taught me patience and only enhanced my stubbornness. When I had no one else to depend on other than myself, when I was convinced that no one in the world cared whether I lived or died, those were the times that taught me to depend on myself always and others second.   
  
These changes in the way I thought made Robin a difficult role to imagine myself stepping back into. Robin was a child. Tough, intelligent, and willing to learn, but still a child. I may only be eighteen now, but I've been mostly alone since I was a child, and on my own since I was fifteen. That will either mature or kill someone. I was a long way from a child.   
  
I wondered if I was doing the right thing by returning to Gotham to stay. It had been three years, and although so far I had seemed to be able to jump right back into the camaraderie of the clan, I couldn't help but wonder if it would be easy to be with people again. After three years of trusting only myself, will I be able to trust someone else watching my back? I didn't know. Some habits are hard to shake, and for so long, I had almost hated the thought of the clan. It had hurt too much to think about them. My imagination had had them cheering happily now that the 'boy blunder' was out of the way. It would take some time before I would really feel totally at home again. My relationship skills were never that great to begin with, I just hoped they hadn't gotten too much worse over the last few years.   
  
Maybe it would all come back with time. I hoped so.  
  
What had changed over the last three years was my assuredness that even if things didn't work out here, I could survive. I could make a life for myself anywhere. Gotham felt right because here I could do work that I'd done before, and even have the chance to prove myself to people that, despite the loneliness of the last three years, I had never stopped respecting. I also knew that, with my more mature and analytical mindset, I wasn't as apt to get emotionally involved with the clan again until I was pretty dang sure that it would work out. Maybe it was cold of me, but I could go upstairs right now, grab my stuff and leave and survive. And I would, if I had too, although I really wanted to make this work.   
  
Somehow, putting myself back into the Robin costume would send the message to the rest of the clan that I was the same, just older. This was far from the truth. I didn't want this to be any harder than it already was going to be, and a new name would at least emphasize that I was different. However, an identity is not to be approached lightly. It did matter what name I went under, for several reasons. First, it was going to become more used than my real name. Second, it needed to portray me, who I was, how I thought. Finally, it was nearly impossible to change, and I didn't want to have to go overseas for another three years just because I didn't like my codename. Heh.  
  
I was jolted out of my reverie by a question from Bruce. Typical, he seemed to know what I had been thinking about. "You're going to need a costume. Do you have anything in mind?"  
  
I had my mouth open, ready to tell them that I was open to suggestions, when a voice behind me made me jump. "Tim is going to stay?" Cass moved from the shadows and joined us. At Bruce's nod, she grinned and threw her arms around me. I blinked. Wasn't expecting that, not that I mind. Although it looks like I'm going to get teased later, if I know the look on Dick's face. I returned her hug carefully. She stepped back, turned around, and ran out of the room. I blinked again and gave the room in general a blank look. I have no idea what that was about, but I know one thing, Dick had better stop snickering at me, or there's gonna be bloodshed.   
  
I cut off my glare at him to look back at Cass as she ran back into the room. Grinning at me, she handed me a familiar shuriken. The colorful piece of metal caught the light as I held it. I gave her a questioning look, why had she given my old R back to me? I started to ask, aware of both the steady gaze of Bruce and the shrug that Dick shot me. "Umm, thanks. But..."  
  
Cass got a stubborn look on her face. "You are back. Need costume and name, right?" At my cautious nod, she continued. "Be Robin." She nodded her head and crossed her arms as if the matter was totally settled.   
  
I had several things that I wanted to say. Really. It's not my fault they all came out in an assortment of sputters. Anyway, it didn't matter because both Bruce and Dick started talking, too. In the ensuing muddle of words, one voice rang out loud and clear. "This is not a chicken coop!"   
  
The sound of a pin falling would have been loud in the cave as Alfred descended the stairs, glaring at one and all. If we all hadn't been so cowed, it would have been funny. Who would have guessed that all it would take to shut up Batman, Nightwing, Batgirl and who ever I was, was an elderly English butler? But shut up we were, and even Bruce looked somewhat penitent as Alfred continued. "My word, what on earth could cause all of you to be talking at the same time? I heard you from the top of the stairs!"   
  
Dick spoke, looking rather embarrassed. "Sorry, Alfred. Ummm, hey, Tim's going to be staying!" I was tempted to roll my eyes at Dick's blatant change of subject, but Alfred turned to me and I didn't have the nerve. I had always secretly thought that Bruce's famed Bat look was an evolution of the slightly less well known, but equally terrifying Alfred glare, but now I had proof. I held back a sigh of relief as the glare changed into a smile.   
  
"Why, that's wonderful. Will you be indulging in the activities of the night as well?" Well, that was an interesting way of putting it.   
  
"Yeah, well, that's kinda what we were discussing. I am planning on it, but I need a name..." I let my voice trail off.  
  
Alfred shot Bruce a look. "I see. Exactly what was the cause of the commotion, might I ask?"  
  
"Well, I'm not really sure. Cass suggested that I be Robin again, and we just were discussing the matter when you came down." I was rather proud of how I worded that.   
  
Alfred gave me a skeptical look, but didn't comment. "Perhaps if you spoke one at a time, you would accomplish more." After that profound statement, he headed back upstairs as we all looked at each other.   
  
Cass was the first to speak. "I think Tim is Robin again. Was Robin, good Robin. No reason to change."   
  
Dick went next. "I don't care, other than I figured that Tim would want to strike out and find something new." He shrugged. "Whatever though, it's really not anything that I have any say in." Which was somewhat true.  
  
Bruce and I traded glances. We obviously needed to have another talk, and it wasn't that I specifically didn't want Dick and Cass in on it, but like Dick said, it wasn't really their call. It was something that was for Bruce and I to discuss. Dick picked up on our train of thought, and distracted Cass by his usual method, cracking stupid jokes and doing his best to make Cass laugh. Which, I gathered from the stone face that was rewarding his antics, was harder than it might seem. It looked like a game that they played frequently.   
  
I walked a little closer to Bruce and leaned up against the computer console. I wonder what name he will suggest, or if he'll suggest one at all. This should be interesting.   
TBC.... 


	5. Name Game

Hi, thanks for the reviews! I'd probably still write without them, but it makes it so much more fun. Here's chapter 5, and the last chapter, #6, should be up in a couple of days. Both of these chapters are going to be a little longer than some of my previous ones, because I don't feel like spreading this out into three or even four chapters. It just takes too long, and I'm ready to get to work on Exile 5. Anyway, enjoy! - krt  
  
Disclaimer in chapter 1...  
  
Chapter 5: Name Game  
  
Bruce and I just stared at each other for a while. Not the most fun thing I've ever indulged in, but I managed not to face fault. Finally, he broke the silence. "You have changed." He leaned back in his seat, still managing to look totally alert and in control, and steepled his fingers underneath his chin. "I had considered Robin for you as well, but I don't think that it's appropriate now. Robin would have implied that there is something that you still need to learn from me, and I don't think that that is the case."  
  
I gave him a careful look. "There's always more to learn." Which was true, but I think that I understood what he meant. What I needed to learn now was just what experience and time would teach me, not training sessions and endless repetitions of lessons.   
  
Bruce nodded agreement to my words, and seemed to gather from my contemplative look that I understood what he had meant with his statement. It was actually very interesting, feeling like I was on a more level mental playing field with him. Not that he couldn't out think me in a second, and probably do four other things at the same time, but at least I didn't feel like he was talking down to me anymore. I continued. "I don't think that Robin is a name that really portrays who I am anymore." I ran my hand through my hair in slight frustration. "That being said, I don't really know who I am anymore. All I really know is that I'm not the same, and I don't think it's going to work if I pretend that I am." I gave him a searching look, and figured out that he agreed with me from the look in his eyes. "It's also going to take a little time for me to get comfortable around people again." An eyebrow cocked slightly, asking why. I really didn't want to get into all this now. Or ever, really, but definitely not now. I shrugged. "I've been alone, Bruce."  
  
I hope he understood what I was and wasn't saying. I've been alone, it was hard, I had to fight to keep from going crazy, and I'm not used to having people willing to defend my back. In fact, exactly the opposite, so I was going to have to learn to trust them again. Oh, I trusted them now, mentally, but it would take some time before it would be second nature again, where I could count on one of the clan to be watching my back so much that I wouldn't check it myself. That just took time.   
  
Bruce gave me a searching look and nodded slowly. "That's understandable. I presume that you are interested in keeping the Tim Drake persona?"   
  
I actually had to think about that for a second. Dad would connect a new hero showing up with me, regardless of what name I wore, but I wasn't really worried about him telling what he knew after the talk we'd had. Even though he didn't seem to want me as a son, I was proud of my name. I wouldn't give that up unless there was no other option open to me. I answered unequivocally. "Yes."  
  
Bruce nodded, obviously not surprised, and continued. "You are welcome to stay at the manor." For a second, I thought I saw a flash of humor in his face. "I'm sure I have room for you somewhere. Unless you have somewhere else in mind?"  
  
I didn't really like being a charity case, but I also knew that it would be stupid of me to not take him up on his offer. Offering to pay my way would border on ridiculous, as well. And it wasn't like I'd be putting him out. Oh, shut up, Tim, and quit making excuses for yourself. It wasn't like I had anywhere else to go. I'd have to figure out a way to get Alfred to let me help out some, though. "I would appreciate that."   
  
"Now, the real question remains. What to call you?" Bruce looked thoughtful. "I haven't done this for years. Do you have anything to start from?"  
  
I sighed. This wasn't going to be very helpful. "Umm, no... Nothing with man on the end." That was just a little, I dunno, obvious. I'd never liked that.  
  
Bruce narrowed his eyes. "And what is wrong with that?"   
  
Oops, good one, just go and stick your foot in your mouth and chow down. "Umm, I dunno, it always just seemed like what the older heroes used and..."  
  
Bruce interrupted. "Older?" He scowled at me. "What are you implying?"  
  
Eep. I think that he's kidding, but he's Batman, Batman doesn't kid, but I've been gone three years, Bruce found his sense of humor? Or is this just a one-time thing? Or maybe he's gonna kill me now for calling him old. Ok, I am mentally rambling. This is bad. I purposefully donned an embarrassed face and covered my eyes with my hand. "Y'know, I think I'll just shut up now." Kidding or not, I was not going to be continuing this conversation. Just a little too dangerous.  
  
"That might be wise." Bruce returned to the subject at hand, which gave me the urge to sigh with relief. Mental note to self. Bruce might just possibly be a little sensitive about his age. "Hhhn." We both sat in silent contemplation for a moment. "You don't really need to inspire fear, necessarily. Gotham's is pretty accustomed to fearing anything that is out at night."  
  
I shrugged. "I don't even really need the name to be all that well known, at least not from the start. For all practical purposes, all I really need is something to call me in the information circles and on the computer and com links."  
  
Bruce shook his head. "True, but I predict that the Titans will be asking you to consider membership once it is known that you're back in the business. It is important to be recognizable for more than just the criminals."   
  
I raised an eyebrow. "I would have thought that you only tolerated the various hero teams." I'd deal with the Titans issue when and if it came up.   
  
"They have their purposes." Bruce straightened and stood. "We can discuss this tomorrow if you don't think of something tonight."  
  
I turned back to the others as Bruce made a few adjustments on the computer. Dick turned towards me with a sappy smirk on his face. "Timmy, you can be... wait for it... the Creepy Shadow-Man!" Cassandra was trying hard not to crack a smile. Dick continued, pausing to laugh at about every third word. "Watch out, here he comes. Guardian of the shadows, Protector of all creepy things, it's..."  
  
I interrupted. "Spare me, please. And don't call me Timmy." Ignoring the ensuing jokes, which were getting progressively stupider, I turned back to Bruce and rolled my eyes.   
  
Bruce pulled the cowl back over his head and moved towards the transporter. "I have a JLA meeting. You're not to go out alone until I clear you."  
  
I nodded my acquiescence. Understandable, and expected. I didn't imagine it would take long to get me on the streets alone again, but he had a right to be sure that I was prepared. Plus, even if I didn't like it, there wasn't anything that I could say that would change his mind. "Sure. Dick has Gotham tonight?"  
  
"Yes, patrol with him. Let me know if you decide on something and get me any costume designs and I'll see that it gets made." With that he dissolved into nothingness.   
  
Scarcely had he disappeared when an irritated Oracle appeared on the main screen. "Batman? Where is he? He's forty minutes late! Oh, never mind, here he is..." The transmission was cut off. I blinked. Batman had been late to a JLA meeting? Because he was talking with me? I think I need to sit down.  
  
I fell into the main seat and turned to face the other two occupants of the cave, who were still avidly discussing possible names for me. As entertaining as it was, I was compelled to interrupt for the sake of Gotham. Not to mention my sanity. "Hey, Dick."  
  
He turned. "Yeah?"  
  
"I'm with you tonight."  
  
"Cool. Did you guys decide?"  
  
I fingered the R shuriken still in my hand, then carefully set it down in the box where it had originally been resting. It would have to wait for someone else. "Not really, I'm supposed to be thinking about it, though." I shot a glance at Cass. "I'm not going to be Robin. It just doesn't fit me anymore."  
  
Cass looked thoughtful. "Yes, you changed. Should change name, too. I see." The thoughtful look disappeared as she lightly slapped Dick on the shoulder. "Time to work now. Go. Stop lazy."   
  
She utterly ignored Dick's 'who me?' look and walked over to me, readying a fist. She was doing it very obviously, so I reacted the way I was supposed to and leaped to my feet. "I'm going, I'm going. I'm not the lazy one here." She wrinkled up her nose and me and moved towards the exit, heading for her patrol.   
  
I headed upstairs to grab my stealth gear, such as it was, and returned in about ten minutes, dressed in my all black outfit, this time minus the leather jacket, so that my weapons belt was fully accessible. Downstairs again, Dick took one look at my mask and sniffed his distain. "No night vision? No built in scanner, camera, computer monitor, radio or police band? Hmmph, you need an upgrade."  
  
Yeah, well, those upgrades he was talking about cost. Lots and lots of cost. My dad had set up a generous allowance to be sent to me monthly while I was overseas, but it wasn't enough to cover everything. I had to stifle a grin, if he only knew what I spent it on... lessons, and weapons, and plane tickets and bribes. Heh. I'd already had to scrimp to pay for what was necessary. "Yeah, well, it came down to that or walking home, so guess which one won out."  
  
Dick shook his head sadly, and insincerely, in my direction. "Poooor Tim. Well, we can fix that. Right this way." I followed him out of the main cave and down the hall.   
  
I had always termed this place the Vault, because it was stuffed full of every kind of weapon, disguise, or gadget that I could ever imagine. Well, that I could imagine when I was fifteen. Now, there were only a few that I didn't know at least the rudiments of using, and even fewer that I didn't at least recognize. Dick walked straight to a row of cabinets and started fumbling around. I watched, trying not to chuckle as he muttered endlessly to himself under his breath. "Ok, I know I saw it, I only had to organize this place forty million times. Nope, that's not it, nope, nope, hey? No, too small. Aha! Here, try this." Turning, he tossed me a mask, very similar to the one I had, but with the standardized Bat equipment.  
  
I took it and put it on, reaching around to straighten it, so that I could actually see out of it. As I did that, my hand accidentally bumped a small button under my right ear. "Oracle here, who is this?" Opps, I guess that was the com button.   
  
"Um, Tim, sorry, Babs, I'm not used to this mask yet."  
  
"Mask? That must mean you're staying! Great! Let me know if I can help you out with anything. The Oracle sees all, y'know."  
  
"I'll remember that. Thanks."  
  
"Is Dick there? If he is tell him that Cass was just here and said that if he wasn't patrolling in two minutes that she was gonna have to come back over there and..." Dick, who had activated his own ear piece, started to push me towards his car.   
  
I interrupted Babs. "I think that he got the message."  
  
"Ok, well, I gotta get back to the JLA meeting, I think maybe they are actually going to talk about something relevant in a minute. Oracle out."  
  
"Hey, you can stop pushing, I'll go already." Dick quit and rounded the car to the driver's side, tossing the keys in the air gently. I was curious. "Would Cass really come back here?"  
  
Dick gave me a half-serious look. "I've never had the guts to call her on it."  
  
"Point taken."   
  
"Well, then, let's go kick some Gotham tail, bro."  
  
TBC...  
  
For those who were asking about this, yes, I am about to have a Tim/Dick bonding moment. Beware, Gotham! And I promise that the code name will be unveiled soon. - krt 


	6. Swingin'

The last chapter of Decision is up! It's even longer than normal, mostly because I was too lazy to separate it into two chapters. The next story is still in the planning stage, but it should be coming along in a week or so. I hope everyone doesn't get tired of this series, because I still have a lot of plot rolling around in my head... Ack! Enough talking already, read! Thanks for the reviews, and I would love to have any reviews, ideas, problems and so forth. -krtshadow  
  
Chapter 6: Swingin'  
  
I have to admit that being out here, with approval this time, is an absolute rush. I feel like I'm free again, and that while all my problems aren't gone, they are at least left behind for a while. Dick had treated me to an... interesting trip into Gotham. It was faintly reminiscent of an especially deadly roller coaster ride, actually. I had to groan at the thought. How the heck would I know, it's been years since I've been on a roller coaster. And then we traded the car for the hiss and crunch of a fired grapple, and the whistling sound as you move though the air. In a way that was roller coaster all of its own. Land, look, aim, fire, pull, jump, fall, swing, and land. The rhythm came back to me slowly, but surely.   
  
Dick was holding back big time, and doing his best to make it so I wouldn't notice, but I'm not stupid. I'm out of practice with this particular method of travel, and even when I was in practice he was twice as good as I was. Yet another thing that was just going to take some time. Well, for once, I actually had time. Dick landed on the roof of Gotham Central Bank, and I landed beside him and rolled, coming to my feet near the edge of the ten-story building. I watched the traffic below, the lights mesmerizing as they moved. "Dang, it's good to be back."  
  
Dick joined me. "Glad you think so. We missed you, y'know."  
  
"I'd wondered." Dick looked like he wanted to say something, so I fired a grapple and resumed patrolling again. Not like that would stop him or anything. Somehow he managed to catch up with me and we landed on the next roof in perfect synchronization.  
  
"Didn't trust us very much, did you?" Dick sounded annoyed at my previous statement. He obviously thought that I had said it out of spite or something. I hadn't, I had just spoken before I'd thought. Now, it looked like I was going to have to have this discussion, whether I wanted to or not.  
  
I turned to face him, seeing that he wasn't really angry with me, just almost hurt. "Dick, don't take this wrong, ok? I didn't mean what I said as anything other than a comment, but try to look at this from my perspective. Yeah, I trusted you. I waited. Three months I waited, and then I started to doubt, yeah."   
  
Dick winced. I hated to talk to him like this, knowing that it was all my father's fault, not his or Bruce's, but maybe if we both got some stuff off of our chests it would get our relationship back on the road back to where it had been. I understood why the clan had made the decision that they had about contracting me, but they needed to understand where I was coming from. What Bruce had decided was possibly for the best, but that was looking at things with hindsight, and I hadn't had that advantage when I sat alone in Switzerland.   
  
Dick looked out over the skyline and sighed. "I'm sorry. Bruce and I had a couple of huge fights over this. I don't know if you'll like this or not, but I thought we should screw what your dad said and bring you home anyway. Bruce wouldn't even consider it, or didn't seem to anyway. Your relationship with your dad is very important to him, nonexistent as it may be."  
  
That was understandable. Bruce hadn't had a father since he was six, of course he would be sensitive about anything that would cause someone to lose or at least be separated from a parent. I knew that the decision that he'd made wasn't an easy one. To be honest, every time I gave it serious thought, I came up with the same answer that he had. I couldn't be angry at him, because I would have done the exact same thing in his place. Nor could I think that Dick was totally wrong, because a big part of me wished that the clan would have just picked me up one day and taken me home. I sighed softly. "Yeah. I'm really not mad at any of you now, but I was for a long time." What is done is done, and I don't know if changing it would have been good anyway. I would have likely been a different person, but better? I'd never know.   
  
I shook off my thoughtfulness as the faint sound of a scream hit my ears. Dick and I moved as one, at least for the first jump, and then he was ahead of me. Even as most of my concentration was on finding the source of the scream as quick as possible, a small part of my brain watched Dick's moves with awe. Yeah, I could probably take him on a mat nine times out of ten, but if it ever came down to a chase, or a fight where he could fully utilize his acrobatics, the odds would be even, if not reversed totally. He just moved where I had to think to move, and the effortless flow of his actions never paused, not even before doing stunts that someone with the power of flight would be hard pressed to imitate. Yeah, practice will help me a lot, and give me a couple of weeks and I'll be better at this than when I was Robin, but there was no way in heck that I'd ever to keep up with Dick if he didn't want me too. So that was why I landed on the roof next to an alley a good fifteen seconds behind Dick, even though it was only about three blocks away.   
  
I was slightly surprised that he hadn't already jumped the gang of guys who were slowly pursuing a middle-aged lady who had her back up against the wall. There were five of them, and they were laughing it up, sporting knives and telling her in great detail exactly what they planned to do to her before they killed her. I shot Dick a questioning look and he answered with a raised eyebrow of his own and the words, "Nothing's happened yet. You take 'em."   
  
My eyes narrowed slightly as I took a split second to scan the area and plan what I was going to do. Dick obviously wanted to see me in action, and who was I to deny such scum the beating they deserved? Knowing that Dick would likely report the entire incident to Bruce didn't bother me at all. Hmm, I guess my self-confidence really has grown considerably. Good, it was about time.  
  
It was also time to deal with the situation unfolding below. The lady let out another rather forlorn scream, and the laughter of the scumbags at her terror covered any sound that might have possibly warned them. I dropped over the side of the roof, slowing my fall by bouncing off of the sides of the alley and by grabbing a fire escape, and landed in a crouch between the lady and the gang. My voice was cold as I gave them a chance they didn't deserve. "You have three seconds to run. One." They seemed stunned by my sudden entrance and stared at me in shock. "Two."  
  
"GET HIM." Idiots.   
  
I dove into the center of the rough circle they were standing in. One swung a switchblade at me and I ducked and rolled, kicking his legs out from underneath him and applying a carefully gauged kick to the temple. Didn't want to kill him, after all. One down. Two more came at me, swinging their fists with reckless abandon. I overruled my initial temptation, which was to let them knock each other out, and somersaulted over their heads, landing on my hands and using that force to drive a foot into the back of each of their heads. Three down. The next one had a baseball bat, and I avoided his attempted home run of my head by flipping backwards. As he prepared to swing again, I grabbed the bat and wrenched it from his hands, reversing it and tapping the last guy, who was trying to sneak up behind me, on the head. Hard. Four down, and a quick spin kick made five. I gave each guy a careful look, just in case anybody was faking, and then mentally congratulated myself. Not bad. Five in a minute. I could do better, but not by much.   
  
But there were other things to think about now. I moved closer the woman, who was watching me with wide-open eyes. She blinked suddenly, and I got the feeling that she hadn't dared to since I'd appeared. I stopped a good five feet away from her, well outside of her personal space. I knew that an experience like she'd had could traumatize, and being approached by a person dressed in black , wearing a mask, and who could obviously easily hurt her, would not help at all. "Excuse me, ma'am. Are you ok?"  
  
She took a big breath and nodded her head slowly. "Yes. Thank you, I... thank you." She was quickly regaining her poise, taking a second to pick up her purse from where it had fallen and straightening her shirt.   
  
"Do you want me to walk you home?"   
  
"No, I'm just around the corner, I'll be fine." She gave me a rather weak smile, but it was enough to tell me that she probably would be fine.   
  
"Ok, but I'll keep an eye on you until you get there. Are you willing to press charges?" I motioned at the thugs draped in an assortment of unconscious poses across the alley.   
  
She nodded. "I'll call the police as soon as I get home."  
  
"They'll be here." I escorted her to the mouth of the alley and waited in the shadows as she shakily made her way down the street to her apartment building. As soon as she entered, I turned back to the men on the ground, only to find Dick already in the process of securing their hands. I moved towards the closest and bound his hands behind his back with a thick piece of bendable wire. After they were all leaned nicely up against the alley wall, we took to the roofs again.   
  
Dick grinned at me. "Good job. You handled that real well."  
  
"Thanks. Do we need to wait 'til the police get here?"  
  
"Nope, someone will probably be here in less than twenty minutes, and I'd bet ten bucks that none of those..." he motioned down to the alley floor "... will be moving for an hour at least." He grinned at me as I smirked and dusted my hands together. "Well, we'd better get back to work." With that, he fired a grapple, and once again, I had to really work just to keep up.   
  
We crouched for a breather at the top of one of the gargoyles that are scattered among the many buildings of Gotham. Neither of us really needed the rest, but the night was relatively slow, and there was nothing else to do at the moment. Dick looked at me thoughtfully. "So, you need a name, huh?"  
  
I wrinkled my nose under my mask. "Yeah, any suggestions?"   
  
He chuckled under his breath. "At least you're smart enough to ask for suggestions. I thought about it for weeks, and finally just moped until Supes told me off." It hadn't been exactly like that, I knew the story, but it was just his way of showing that he was pleased that I asked him for his opinion.  
  
"So, anything come to mind?" I thought again, but drew nothing but a blank.  
  
"Ummm, let's see, we gotta start somewhere... While you were gone, what name did you go under?"  
  
"Mostly Tim Drake." Not very helpful, but it was the truth, except for... hmmm.  
  
"No nicknames, names your teachers called you, anything?"  
  
"Actually, I may have just thought of something. The teacher I studied under first, and the one that I was with for the longest, he knew who I was."   
  
Dick's eyebrows raised almost to his hairline. "Knew as in knew about you as Robin knew?" I... think I followed that.   
  
"Yeah, he could read body language and he had this photographic memory like you can't believe. He could recognize people by just seeing the way that they walked. It was amazing. He didn't think I was worth much to start with..."  
  
"Or he just made you feel that way. It's a tried and true teaching method. Just ask Bruce." Oh, the sarcasm.  
  
"Yeah. Anyway, he made a big point about how a robin was a rather weak bird."  
  
"Hey!" Dick gave me an offended look.  
  
"I'm just saying what he said! He got onto this kick of calling me by bird names. I don't think he ever called me by my real name. We went through about every bird in the world." It sure had seemed that way at the time, anyway.  
  
"Like?"  
  
"Like after I finally graduated past Robin, I was Jay, then Gull, Buzzard..."  
  
"BUZZARD?" Dick exploded into laughter.   
  
I hit him on top of the head. "HEY! Shut up! Not funny!" He finally quieted down and I continued, "Anyway, back to what I was saying." I paused to glare at Dick, who had started chuckling again. Smart guy that he is, he ignored my death glare totally and waved me to on with the story. "He kinda worked his way up."  
  
Dick began to look intrigued. "So, what was the final analysis? Eagle? Condor?" He smirked. "Vulture?"  
  
"Funny. It was Hawk. I don't know if that would have been the final one or not, he... he died." I winced, remembering.   
  
Dick winced right along with me. "Ooh. How?"   
  
"Old age, I guess. He knew it was coming, and it was peaceful, but..." I shook my head. "...I was there when he died." I turned my head away slightly. His death had affected me deeply. He hadn't been exactly a father figure or anything, just a teacher, but he'd been about all that I'd had at the time. His death had really screwed up my training as well, but that was another story altogether. I shook my head slightly. "He didn't call me Hawk until that last day. Huh, I haven't thought about that for months."  
  
Dick laid a hand on my shoulder. "Hawk, huh? I like it. I like it a lot. But, there's a problem..."  
  
"What?" I was mentally trying out the name. It was definitely better than anything else I'd thought up so far.   
  
"It doesn't have two syllables." Huh? What the heck does that have to do with anything? Dick gave a serious look. "Has to have two syllables. Batman, Nightwing, Superman, Batgirl, all the cool people have two syllables."   
  
It took me a second to figure out that he was trying to get my mind off of the topic of death. I appreciated the effort, and chuckled. "If you suggest Hawk-man, I will kill you."  
  
"Nah, it's been done. But I think you should keep the hawk part, it suits you. Swooping down and kicking tail and all that. But isn't a hawk a day kind of bird? H'bout Nighthawk, no, that's too close to mine. Hmm, got it!"  
  
"I got one, too. What do you think of Darkhawk?"  
  
"Aww, man, that's what I was going to say!" Nightwing laughed.   
  
"Oh come on, was not. You just like mine better than yours, so you'll try to take credit for my idea."  
  
"You know me all too well. Darkhawk. I like it. I think you just got named, bro."   
  
"Yeah." I was about to suggest that we return to patrolling, when I felt something touch my shoulder. I moved fast, whirling to face whatever danger was approaching my back.   
  
I found myself face to face with Batgirl. I relaxed from my defensive position with a sigh. "Wing, you idiot, you just sat there and watched her sneak up on me, didn't you?" His laughter was an adequate answer.   
  
Cass gave us a shake of her head, and pointed out towards the lights of Gotham. "Nightwing and..." she paused for a second, turning her head towards me, "Darkhawk talk too much. Get to patrol. My turn to sit and watch lights."  
  
"Yes, ma'am!" Nightwing laughed as he threw himself off the pinnacle backwards, not even bothering with a grapple.  
  
I took one look at how he did it and decided I'd take a slightly more controlled way down. "See you tomorrow, Cass?"   
  
She sat on the very tip of the ledge and tipped her head back to look at me. "Yes. Bye."   
  
And I threw myself back into the nightlife of Gotham.  
  
End.  
  
Series to be continued. 


End file.
